Jobless rate falls in May in Providence metro

By Meg Sullivan PBN Staff Writer

Unemployment in the Providence-Fall River-Warwick metropolitan area decreased year over year in May, but increased from April to May, according to a U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics report. More

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Jobless rate falls in May in Providence metro

THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE in the Providence-Fall River-Warwick metropolitan area fell to 9.2 percent in May, a 1.1 percentage point decline year over year, but an increase from the 8.8 percent reported in April.

WASHINGTON - Unemployment in the Providence-Fall River-Warwick metropolitan area decreased year over year in May, but increased from April to May, according to a U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics report.

The jobless rate in the Providence metropolitan area was 9.2 percent in May, compared to 10.3 percent in May 2012. It hit a low of 8.8 in April 2013.

Despite the 1.1 percentage point decrease in unemployment over the year, the metro area’s rate is still almost two points higher than the national rate of 7.3 percent.

For the same year-over-year period, Rhode Island’s jobless rate fell to 9.3 percent from 10.2 percent, not seasonally adjusted. (The seasonally adjusted rate for the state, released previously by the state Department of Labor and Training, was 8.9 percent.)

Statewide, Massachusetts experienced a minute increase in unemployment from the year earlier, though it still remained below the national average, growing from 6.5 percent to 6.8 percent.

The Yuma, Ariz. Metropolitan area had the highest unemployment rate of 30.8 percent, and the largest jobless rate increase with 2.8 percent. Bismarck, N.D. had the lowest with 2.4 percent.

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